With a population of over 1.4 billion and a rapidly increasing demand for foreign travel, India is becoming a target market that many countries around the world are racing to exploit. In that race, Vietnam has many advantages as a popular destination for Indian tourists. Knowing how to take advantage of its strengths and having a suitable strategy to attract this potential market will help Vietnam's tourism grow strongly in the coming time.

According to the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism, before the Covid-19 pandemic, the number of Indian visitors to Vietnam was only 169,000 (in 2019). However, by 2023, this number had reached 392,000, an increase of 231% compared to 2019. In the first 6 months of 2024 alone, our country welcomed 231,000 Indian visitors, an increase of 164% compared to the same period in 2023. India has become one of the 10 largest international tourist markets in Vietnam, confirming that Vietnam is a destination welcoming a strong wave of Indian tourism.

The report “Tourism Trends 2024: Breaking Boundaries” from the Mastercard Economic Institute also confirmed that Indian tourists to Vietnam increased by 248% compared to the same period in 2019. This is the data compiled from January to March 2024, promising that Indian tourism demand will continue to “explode”, especially when this country is expected to have nearly 20 million more people joining the middle class in the next 5 years.

The Economic Times estimates that by 2024, tourists from this South Asian country will spend about 42 billion USD on foreign tourism. The World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC) has identified India as a large and potential outbound tourism market, with nearly 50 million visitors and estimated revenue of about 100 billion USD by 2027. These figures once again demonstrate the "golden egg" ability of the Indian tourist market.

Experts say that Vietnam has all the strengths to attract more of this type of tourist. The distance between Vietnam and India is not too far, and recently there have been more direct flights connecting the two countries, so it is very convenient to travel, taking only about 4-5 hours for the flight to Vietnam.

In addition, Indians pay great attention to the cost of travel, and Vietnam has competitive service prices, 10-15% cheaper than other countries in the region; this is a "plus point" in the choice of Indian tourists. Besides, for many Indians, Vietnam is still a new destination with diverse culture, cuisine, rich natural resources, etc., easily stimulating the desire to explore.

This helps explain why the number of Indian tourists to Vietnam has increased sharply recently, especially in places with rich tourism resources and high-quality infrastructure such as Da Nang, Phu Quoc, Ha Long, Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, etc.; in which family group travel, MICE tourism, especially wedding tourism with lavish weddings of the super-rich Indians, is popular. This is also the result of the fact that in recent times, the tourism industry and many localities and destinations in our country have focused on promoting and advertising Vietnamese tourism to the Indian market.

Notably, recently, Vietnam Airlines, together with partners Vietravel, Vingroup, Sun Group and Indian travel agencies, held a joint ceremony to launch the Vietnam destination in the capital city of New Delhi; at the same time, successfully organized a series of events to open the Vietnam Tourism Information Center in India, aiming to create a bridge to more effectively exploit the world's most populous market.

According to many experts, besides attracting Indian tourists, the important issue is to build services and products that are capable of conquering this famously difficult market. Sharing about some distinctive characteristics of Indian tourists, Mr. Nguyen Quang Vinh (Institute for Tourism Development Research), Head of the program "Research on the market of Indian tourists to Vietnam" said that Indian tourists often travel with family or groups of friends, rarely travel alone; love shopping, participating in outdoor activities, visiting museums, cultural and historical relics, etc.

Besides their preference for beautiful resorts, Indian tourists also enjoy eating and partying. Indian tourists often choose to use services at a fairly average level, they calculate and consider carefully their travel and dining options. Understanding the psychological characteristics, culture and habits of tourists will help service providers be more prepared to meet tourists' needs.

According to Mr. Vinh, through research, Indian tourists have the habit of receiving and learning about destination information and tourism products through electronic information sites and social networks before making travel decisions, so promoting through digital technology will be an effective way to reach this customer segment.

Many opinions say that Vietnam needs to perfect the ecosystem of restaurants and standard accommodation facilities to serve Indian tourists, meeting their needs for cuisine, prayer, etc.

Associate Professor, Dr. Pham Hong Long, Head of the Department of Tourism Studies, University of Social Sciences and Humanities (Vietnam National University, Hanoi) expressed his opinion: Although the number of Indian tourists to Vietnam is increasing, there are no specific and complete statistics on human resources serving Indian tourists. There needs to be a solution to train and foster knowledge and skills to serve Indian tourists for units exploiting this market.

Tourism research expert, Master Nguyen Van Gia suggested that travel agencies need to coordinate closely with Indian partners to clarify customers' requests regarding food and beverage; notify in detail the services in the program, any additional services, not included in the program, need to be made into options with specific costs to be ready to serve if customers have a need.

On the part of state agencies, Mr. Gia said that there should be policies to support businesses in organizing training for tour guides, restaurant and hotel staff and staff of other service providers for Indian guests; coordinate with the Indian side in cooperation and transfer of food processing technology, spices and raw materials to serve the dining needs of Hindus and Muslims at restaurants and hotels in Vietnam; strengthen bilateral cooperation in the fields of tourism, trade, diplomacy, aviation, etc., creating a basis to strongly attract Indian tourists with increasingly professional and high-quality services.